Written Answers Tuesday 27 May 2008

Scottish Executive

Access for Disabled People

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a disability impact assessment was carried out on the proposal to disband the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland and whether any such assessment is publicly available.

Stewart Stevenson: The decision to move to full incorporation of MACS and the PTUC was taken following a wide-ranging consultation carried out between December 2005 and March 2006. The requirement to undertake an equality impact assessment in relation to disability came into effect in December 2006.

  An equality impact assessment is currently being undertaken. This is examining the effect of the amalgamation of the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) with the Public Transport Users’ Committee for Scotland (PTUC), taking on board evidence from stakeholders as gathered in the recent consultation. This will be published once it has been completed.

Access for Disabled People

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations it held on the proposal to disband the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland with (a) the committee itself and (b) other disability groups.

Stewart Stevenson: A wide-ranging consultation seeking views from organisations representing disability and mobility interests about incorporating the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) into the Public Transport Users’ Committee for Scotland (PTUC) was carried out during the passage of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 between December 2005 and March 2006.

  We recently consulted MACS and over 70 other key stakeholders and organisations seeking their views on the practical implications of the amalgamation.

Arts

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how support is provided to Scotland’s creative industries.

Linda Fabiani: Public bodies in Scotland work in partnership to provide support to creative industries.

  The enterprise bodies and the activities of the business gateway focus on accelerating economic growth through key sectors and companies with particular growth potential.

  The Scottish Arts Council supports artists and art organisations to fulfil their creative and business potential. Scottish Screen seeks to develop business and skills in Scotland’s screen industries.

  In future, we propose that Creative Scotland be the leading public body advocating for the creative industries. It will evolve complementary tailored services for creative entrepreneurs in the first stages of business development, which dove tail with those offered by the business gateway and the enterprise bodies.

  In order to build on existing joint working we will also establish a creative economy forum. The forum will develop further a shared framework for the support and development of the creative economy, based on the core functions described above.

Arts

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget is to support the creative industries in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Linda Fabiani: My answer to question S3W-13054 on 27 May 2008 described the core functions of public bodies in support of the creative industries, and that the bodies noted there, as well as other important partners, will work together in a creative economy forum to ensure continuing and effective joint working.

  In pursuing their functions, the enterprise bodies, the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen will allocate such resources from their grant in aid as they consider appropriate.

  Proposed expenditure by the enterprise bodies on creative industries is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and I will ask both of their chief executives to write to you in this regard.

  In 2008-09, the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen will distribute approximately £45 million from Government grant in aid of £50 million to a range of individuals and organisations. Within this total, the Scottish Arts Council plans at present to allocate £170,000 to the Cultural Enterprise Office, a specialist creative and cultural industry service, which assists individuals with the development of their business, arts practice and continued professional development. General expenditure for subsequent years has not yet been decided, but the Scottish Government will provide core grant in aid in those years at the same level as provided in 2008-09.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Bees

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed the non-financial costs to the environment of the total or partial loss of the honey-bee population.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has not assessed the non-financial costs to the environment of the total or partial loss of the honey-bee population. We are, however, aware of the important role they play in pollinating crops as well as our wild or native plants.

Children’s Hearing System

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many referrals to the children’s hearing system there were in (a) Dundee and (b) Angus in the last three years for which information is available.

Adam Ingram: Referrals to the reporter on grounds (Section 52(2) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995)

  

 
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Dundee
 2,994
 2,995
 2,319


 Angus
 778
 1,189
 1,096



  Source: Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

  These figures relate to referrals received by the Children’s Reporter and not to the number of children referred. These figures include referrals on all grounds (both offence and non-offence).

  Years run from 1 April to 31 March.

Children’s Hearing System

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many referrals to the children’s hearing system in (a) Dundee and (b) Angus were on the grounds of lack of parental care in the last three years for which information is available.

Adam Ingram: Referrals to the Reporter under Section 52 (2)(c) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (i.e. "is likely to suffer unnecessarily; or be impaired in his health or development, due to lack of parental care").

  

 
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Dundee
 448
 467
 389


 Angus
 142
 149
 272



  Source: Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

  These figures relate to referrals received by the Children’s Reporter and not to the numbers of children referred.

  Years run from 1 April to 31 March.

Concessionary Travel

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will commence its review of the Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people.

Stewart Stevenson: The review is expected to begin in June 2008.

Concessionary Travel

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the report on its review of the Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people.

Stewart Stevenson: We expect to publish the report early in 2009.

Culture

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) funding and (b) assistance has been given to the (i) Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association and (ii) National Piping Centre to promote Scottish traditional music in each of the last nine years.

Linda Fabiani: Information on the funding provided to the National Piping Centre by the Scottish Arts Council in each of the last nine years is set out in the following table. The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has not received any funding during that period. No other assistance has been provided to either organisation by the Scottish Government or the Scottish Arts Council.

  National Piping Centre

  

 1999-2000
 Towards the cost of feasibility funding to investigate setting up annual programme to run a National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland
£3,876


 2000-01
 Towards the cost of an annual programme to run a National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland to bring more public focus to pipes
£69,599


 2003-04
 Towards the cost of moving the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland into a training and performance phase
£49,997


 2003-04
 Towards the cost of the National Youth Pipe Band consolidating core operation and activity
£68,548


 2005-06
 Towards the cost of encouraging creativity, participation and skill through the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland
£70,600


 2006-07
 Towards the cost of a National Youth Pipe band to encourage creativity, participation and teach new performance skills.
£82,779


 2007-08
 Towards the cost of the employment of a Development Officer for the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.
£30,000


 2007-08
 Towards the cost of developing the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland
£179,494


 
 Total 
£554,893

Cycling

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will maintain core and project funding for Cycling Scotland beyond 2008-09.

Stewart Stevenson: Following agreement with Cycling Scotland, funding beyond 2008-09 will be on a project basis with a core element used for running costs.

Cycling

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of its transport budget is spent on cycling initiatives and projects.

Stewart Stevenson: In 2008-09, an estimated 1% of the Scottish Executive’s transport budget as published in the Budget Bill 2008-09, will be spent on cycling projects. However, it is difficult to measure this figure exactly as cycling infrastructure forms an integral part of many road improvements which is not separately costed. Also, funding for the general refurbishment of 25x class 158 trains based at Inverness has been made available and will include cycle storage for on board carriage.

Cycling

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is available to its Sustainable Transport Unit in each year of the spending review period, broken down by funding stream, and showing what proportion will be spent on (a) cycling and (b) walking, broken down by project.

Stewart Stevenson: As published in the budget document, the Sustainable and Active Travel budget line of £11 million per year over the course of the spending review will be administered by the Sustainable Transport Team. Currently 60% of the total budget available will be spent on cycling projects in 2008-09, as follows:

  

 Sustrans
£3.5 million for capital projects including NCN, national routes, short links and tackling the school run projects.£1.515 million for resource projects including training events and resources for School travel Coordinators and professionals; roll out of the Travelsmart and get Active Getting There projects.


 Cycling Scotland
£1.540 million resource and project funding to provide advice and guidance to local authorities in the design of cycling infrastructure; increase capacity to deliver cycle training in schools through training of trainers; to promote cycling through promotional activities such as Pedal for Scotland and Tackling the School Run.


 The Bike Station
£86,000 over 3 years to run the Build Your Own Bike course for young people from deprived communities who are not in full time education and are at risk of offending. 



  Within the Active Travel budget, up to £15 million will be available to local authorities over the spending review period for the Smarter Choices Smarter Places project. Participating local authorities will use this funding to implement intense activity on sustainable travel and related physical activity interventions, including walking and cycling.

  The Physical Activity strategy will invest a further £12 million over the next three years for physical activity initiatives in schools, workplaces, homes and across communities. This includes funding of £200,000 to Living Streets and £1 million per year to the Paths for All Partnership which will help to promote walking initiatives.

Cycling

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was allocated to Cycling Scotland in each of the last three years.

Stewart Stevenson: Cycling Scotland has been allocated funding in each of the last three years as follows:

  

 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


£350,000
£1,550,000
£962,000



  In 2006-07 Cycling Scotland was awarded project funding for the first time. Funding of £1.150 million was used to provide cycle training resources for every primary school in Scotland.

Cycling

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to develop the remit and operations of Cycling Scotland.

Stewart Stevenson: Cycling Scotland (CS) will undertake a best value review over the summer to assess its impact to date on promoting cycling and active travel and to ascertain the level of demand for its services. The review will also include an assessment of the landscape that CS operates within in relation to other delivery bodies such as Scottish local authorities, regional transport partnerships, Sustrans, the Paths for All Partnership and Living Streets.

  The Scottish Government welcomes this approach and will consider the findings in due course.

Drug Misuse

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent by (a) Dundee City and (b) Angus councils on community care for adults with addictions or who were engaged in substance misuse in the last three years for which information is available.

Fergus Ewing: The following table provides net expenditure by Dundee City and Angus councils on adults with addictions/substance misuse from 2004-05 to 2006-07. This information is reported by councils to the Scottish Government in the annual local financial return for social work.

  

 Council
 Year


2004-05 (£000)
2005-06 (£000)
2006-07
(£000)


 Dundee City
 252
 285
 280


 Angus
 235
 248
 250

Economy

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the economic benefit to Scotland of (a) golf and (b) bagpiping.

Jim Mather: Information on the economic benefit to Scotland of golf and of bagpiping is not held centrally. However, recent research on 70 golf courses around Scotland shows that the value of golf tourism to Scotland is estimated to be nearly £97 million from these courses alone. VisitScotland is currently working to determine the total value of golf tourism to Scotland. Estimates from previous Ryder Cup tournaments suggest that it is reasonable to expect that there will be positive economic impacts on Scotland through hosting the 2014 Ryder Cup – likely to lie in the range of £82 million to £148 million.

Emergency Services

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency calls were made in each police force area in each of the last five years as a result of incidents at power stations.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

Equalities

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to encourage full participation by women in public and political life.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11628 on 23 April 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Ferry Services

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from residents in islands such as Colonsay about their exclusion from the road equivalent tariff pilot and what its response is to any concerns that have been raised.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has received a number of representations from residents on islands such as Colonsay about their exclusion from the road equivalent tariff (RET) pilot. In responding to these representations we have made clear that -

  We sympathise with their concerns about the cost of ferry travel and that is why we are carrying out a study into RET that includes a pilot exercise.

  There is no previous experience of RET in the UK and work was required on how the concept would translate into actual fares charged. The initial desk-based study has been comprehensive and very informative but only a real world pilot will tell us how island residents, tourists, businesses and local economies will react to a significant reduction in fares. It is also important to assess the impact on areas not being funded through the RET mechanism.

  While we appreciate that island communities such as Colonsay are disappointed at not being included in the pilot the very nature of pilots mean that they are selective and it is not possible to include all the routes at this time.

  The pilot will inform the possible future roll out of the scheme across the rest of the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles networks. It is vitally important that we fully assess all the impacts before decisions are made on any future roll out.

Ferry Services

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to expand the road equivalent tariff pilot to include more island communities.

Stewart Stevenson: There are currently no plans to expand the road equivalent tariff (RET) pilot to include more island communities. However, the pilot will be monitored continuously and the coverage of the pilot routes kept under review.

Finance

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations and bodies funded in whole or in part by it have received one year funding allocations for 2008-09 only.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government provides financial support to many organisations and bodies and funding arrangements are discussed and agreed with each of them. This includes support for a number of third sector organisations, where some funding is competitive in nature and, therefore, the number and identity of the organisations cannot be identified at this stage. Information is not held centrally about the precise agreements made in each case.

Fisheries

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the fisheries protection vessel, at present under construction in a Polish yard for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, will be delivered within the agreed timetable.

Richard Lochhead: No. The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) took delivery of the new fishery protection vessel "Hirta" on 8 May 2008 whereas the contracted delivery date was 31 October 2007. Substantial liquidated damages were negotiated by the SFPA, and although the vessel was late it was delivered under budget.

Fisheries

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions have taken place with representatives of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency anent (a) the current construction of a fisheries protection vessel in a Polish shipyard and (b) when the vessel will commence its operational tasks.

Richard Lochhead: Regular discussions take place with the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) on a range of issues, including the construction of the fishery protection vessel "Hirta". The SFPA took delivery of the new vessel on 8 May 2008, and the vessel began its operational tasks on 22 May 2008.

Flooding

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what expenditure from its budget will directly support research aimed at preventing flood risk.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government does not maintain a specific budget to support research aimed at preventing flood risk. Expenditure is made from a £1.6 million per annum resource that provides research and evidence in support of flooding policy, including the flooding bill and transposition of the EC directive on the assessment and management of flood risks.

Flooding

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the flood risk status of areas in Scotland.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has published indicative maps showing land at risk of flooding, where the risk is judged to be 0.5% or greater probability of being flooded in any given year at http://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding/mapping/index.htm .

  Under proposals in the forthcoming Flooding bill, SEPA will map areas at significant risk of flooding taking into account all sources of flooding such as fluvial, coastal, pluvial and sewer flooding.

Flooding

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place for the establishment of local recovery co-ordinating groups to ensure that health and wellbeing support is readily available to those affected by flooding and whether there are specific recommendations for people with disabilities.

Shona Robison: Planning for emergencies, including recovery from such incidents, is primarily a matter for local responders, as defined under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, to whom the Scottish Government will provide appropriate support. Scottish Resilience has sponsored a current project to develop guidance for those charged with the care of people affected by emergencies. The guidance will propose management arrangements for co-ordinating multi-agency response to the personal needs of victims of all individuals affected by emergencies. Funding will be made available for the implementation of the guidance.

Forensic Science

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money the Scottish Police Services Authority has allocated to DNA testing for 2008-09.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) provides forensic science services, including DNA testing, to Scottish police forces. SPSA has allocated £24.4 million for forensic services in 2008-09 compared to £23.3 million in 2007-08. Information about how much of this budget is spent on DNA testing is not held centrally. SPSA does not normally charge police forces for forensic services. Details on how much police authorities and joint police boards spend on DNA testing prior to the establishment of SPSA on 1 April 2007 are not held centrally. The Scottish Government has no plans to change the funding mechanism for the police support services provided by SPSA.

Gaelic Language

Alasdair Allan (Western Isles) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Gaelic language plans Bòrd na Gàidhlig has approved for public bodies since its inception, broken down by year and organisation.

Linda Fabiani: The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 Act provides for Bòrd na Gàidhlig to issue notices to Scottish public authorities requiring them to develop Gaelic Language Plans setting out how they will enable the use of Gaelic in connection with the exercise of their functions. Statutory notices to prepare Gaelic plans were issued to six Scottish public authorities in October 2006. The authorities were the Highland Council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Argyll and Bute, the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The Scottish Government understands that four of these plans have been submitted to Bòrd na Gàidhlig for approval under the terms of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. The bòrd expects to approve two of these plans very soon and will approve a further two Gaelic plans following further discussions with the authorities concerned. The remaining two Gaelic plans are expected to be submitted to the bòrd for approval later this year. Bòrd na Gàidhlig will be issuing six statutory notices to a further six Scottish public authorities later this year inviting them to develop statutory Gaelic language plans.

Housing

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail for each of the four local authorities concerned the expenditure which gives rise to the aggregate figure of £148.4 million referred to as the sum "wasted in trying to get people to vote for stock transfer" by the Minister for Communities and Sport on 8 May 2008 ( Official Report c. 8411) and what sources of information were used as the basis for that statement.

Stewart Maxwell: A significant amount of this money, almost £40 million, was spent on costs relating to the stock transfer process or on trying to persuade tenants of the benefits of stock transfer, something they ultimately rejected. That was a complete waste of money.

  Despite £110 million being allocated to Edinburgh, Renfrewshire, Highland and Stirling by the previous administration for use before stock transfer, tenants still voted no in these areas. It was wasteful to spend money in support of an unsuccessful campaign, rather than part of a properly targeted investment programme.

  The information was obtained by Scottish Government officials based on financial records kept by officials of the former national housing agency, Communities Scotland.

Housing

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was invested in affordable housing for rent in the Angus Council area and how many such homes were made available in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06, (c) 2006-07 and (d) 2007-08.

Stewart Maxwell: The following table details the amount invested in affordable housing for rent in the Angus area and the numbers of homes completed for occupation in the years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.

  

 Angus Council Area 
 Rent


 Units Completed
Spend
(£ Million)


 2004-05
 108
 3.862


 2005-06
 93
 5.236


 2006-07
 64
 7.014


 2007-08
 113
 6.367



  Note: The figures for 2007-08 are provisional and may be subject to slight change.

Housing

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be invested in affordable housing for rent in the Angus Council area and how many such homes will be made available in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Stewart Maxwell: Announcement of the 2008-09 affordable housing investment programme at local authority level will be made shortly. Plans for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be announced nearer the time.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is intended to introduce free legal advice for householders facing repossession of their homes, as has been introduced in England.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government takes the issue of home repossessions very seriously and already funds a range of measures to assist individuals and families who are in danger of losing their homes. Free or subsidised legal advice and representation is available through the legal aid scheme and free advice is provided to unassisted litigants in seven sheriff courts through the In Court Advice service. We also fund "free to client" money advice services across Scotland through local authorities.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to extend the Scottish Crime Survey to include under 16-year-olds.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey currently interviews adults aged 16 years and over. We are aware of developments with the BCS survey of crime in England and Wales to extend coverage to 11 to 15-year-olds and watch these developments with interest, but have no plans to extend coverage in Scotland at present. We are in regular contact with crime survey colleagues at the Home Office.

Ministerial Travel

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3M-10419 by John Swinney on 11 March 2008, what plans the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has to use public transport more frequently.

John Swinney: The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing will continue to consider carefully the appropriate use of public transport for ministerial engagements based on the nature of her diary, the location of engagements and what business needs to be conducted while travelling.

NHS Hospitals

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact Delivering for Remote and Rural Health care: What it Means for You will have on the delivery of out-patient, day case, in-patient and rehabilitation services at the Balfour Hospital, detailing how the new arrangements will differ from those currently provided.

Nicola Sturgeon: Delivering for Remote and Rural Health care: What it Means for You will impact on all rural general hospitals, including Balfour General Hospital, by improving local access to a range of emergency, diagnostic and planned treatment services.

  NHS boards are responsible for planning and delivering services to meet the health care needs of their resident populations. Work is on-going to implement the recommendations contained within the report and boards are expected to deliver these objectives in accordance with Chief Executives Letter 23/2008 circulated on 13 May 2008.

  Further details may be found in the full report of the Remote and Rural Steering Group and in particular the technical annexes (online only) which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45640).

Personal and Nursing Care

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to introduce legislative changes to clarify the position with regard to local authorities charging for food preparation as part of personal and nursing care.

Shona Robison: Yes. In the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing’s statement to the Parliament on 7 May 2008 she confirmed that we will introduce legislation to clarify that councils should not charge for food preparation as part of an assessed package of personal care.

Personal and Nursing Care

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that local authorities which wrongly charged elderly people receiving free personal care for food preparation should reimburse them.

Shona Robison: We have acknowledged that the current legislation requires clarification. We will seek the Parliament’s approval for legislation to stop councils charging for food preparation.

  To date, individual councils have acted on their own legal advice. The issue of refunds is a matter for each council to consider in light of its previous practice.

Police

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how is it decided which police officers have access to tasers.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12940 on 22 May 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Police

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the regulations and procedures are for the suspension of police officers and what roles (a) chief constables, (b) police boards and (c) the Executive play in such suspensions.

Kenny MacAskill: Detailed rules for the suspension of officers below the rank of Assistant Chief Constable are set out in the Police (Conduct) (Scotland) Regulations 1996. Police boards and Scottish ministers have no role in the suspension of officers below the rank of Assistant Chief Constable.

  Detailed rules for the suspension of Assistant Chief Constable ranks and above are set out in the Police (Conduct) (Senior Officers) (Scotland) Regulations 1999. The suspension of a senior officer is a matter for the relevant police authority but before any such suspension can take place, approval must be sought from Scottish ministers.

Public Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to achieve its national target to increase the proportion of journeys to work made by public or active transport and how it is assisting local authorities to achieve this objective.

Stewart Stevenson: We are investing in public transport, travel information, cycling and walking infrastructure and "Smart Measures":

  improving rail services and service times between our major cities including faster and additional services from Edinburgh to Glasgow;

  supporting improved accessibility and lower fares to encourage increased bus use and service provision through the Bus Service Operators Grant;

  funding Transport Direct and Traveline Scotland to develop travel information systems;

  funding Sustrans to provide cycling and walking infrastructure across Scotland and Cycling Scotland to take forward the Cycle Friendly Employer Scheme;

  funding local authorities through the Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets grant fund;

  funding for School Travel Co-ordinator posts has been rolled-up into the block grant for local authorities to use to meet their local priorities and needs, and

  focusing significant effort on travel planning in the public and private sector.

Rail Network

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its targets are for improving (a) end-to-end journey times and (b) capacity on the Aberdeen to Edinburgh rail line.

Stewart Stevenson: We have asked Network Rail to develop a credible plan for providing further journey time improvements between the central belt and Aberdeen, through infrastructure enhancements, under the tier 3 outputs of the high-level output specification. Investment for this project will be determined by affordability and the availability of further financial resources.

  The extension to the First ScotRail franchise provides an opportunity for improving services between Edinburgh, Fife and Aberdeen through revised service patterns and additional services. We will work with our industry partners to implement these service enhancements in the most cost effective way. Full details on the information requested is given in the ScotRail Franchise Amendment Agreement, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45544).

  The longer term needs of Scotland’s nationally strategic transport corridors are being considered through the strategic transport projects review.

Rail Network

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how construction of the dynamic loop on the Kilmarnock to Glasgow rail line will be financed.

Stewart Stevenson: The project will be funded using Network Rail’s regulated asset base finance mechanism.

Rail Network

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the introduction of the dynamic loop will have on the frequency of rail services between Stranraer and Glasgow, via Ayr and Paisley.

Stewart Stevenson: The construction of the dynamic loop provides an opportunity to review the timetables and services in the south west of Scotland. There are no plans currently to increase the frequency of trains to Stranraer, but this will be kept under review.

Rail Network

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the introduction of the dynamic loop will have on rail journey times between Stranraer and Glasgow.

Stewart Stevenson: The construction of the dynamic loop provides an opportunity to review the timetables and services in the south west of Scotland. Opportunities to improve journey times across South West will be examined as part of the review.

Rail Network

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the amenities, overall condition and appearance of Dundee railway station.

Stewart Stevenson: Under the Franchise Agreement with Scottish ministers, investment of around £650,000 from First ScotRail has delivered new CCTV, automatic gating, self-service ticket machines, seating, automatic doors, flooring upgrades, secure cycle storage and onward travel information posters at Dundee station.

  The Strategic Transport Projects Review is currently considering a number of potential interventions which would improve public transport service provision through and within Dundee station.

  Dundee City Council are progressing a feasibility study to provide options for development at the station and both First ScotRail and Network Rail have invested in new facilities and amenities in recent years.

Rail Network

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet NESTRANS to discuss the future of the Aberdeen Crossrail project.

Stewart Stevenson: We have no plans to meet with NESTRANS to discuss Aberdeen Crossrail.

Rail Network

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the successful formal opening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway line on 15 May 2008, whether it and Transport Scotland will consider extending both freight and passenger services on this line to Rosyth and Dunfermline.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland is currently undertaking the multi-modal Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) which will provide an indicative program of transport investments between 2012 and 2022 to deliver against the government’s central purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth. The STPR will consider the importance of effective transport links in the Rosyth and Dunfermline area.

Road Accidents

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many accidents there have been on each trunk road since 2007 and how many involved fatalities.

Stewart Stevenson: Accident data held by Transport Scotland only covers those accidents resulting in injury or death.

  The following table shows the number of injury accidents that have occurred on each trunk road in 2007 including the number of fatal accidents and fatal casualties. Information for 2008 is not yet available.

  

 Route
 Injury Accidents
 Fatal Accidents
 Fatal Casualties


 A1
 38
 4
 4


 A6091
 4
 0
 0


 A68
 34
 2
 2


 A7
 16
 0
 0


 A701
 11
 0
 0


 A702
 39
 3
 3


 A720
 59
 0
 0


 A725
 42
 0
 0


 A726
 11
 0
 0


 A737
 37
 2
 2


 A738
 5
 0
 0


 A75
 68
 3
 4


 A76
 34
 5
 6


 A77
 67
 4
 5


 A78
 59
 1
 1


 A8
 54
 1
 1


 A80
 29
 0
 0


 A82
 143
 8
 8


 A828
 6
 1
 2


 A83
 34
 5
 5


 A830
 5
 0
 0


 A835
 15
 0
 0


 A84
 19
 2
 2


 A85
 56
 1
 5


 A86
 15
 1
 1


 A87
 35
 0
 0


 A876
 4
 0
 0


 A887
 1
 0
 0


 A898
 4
 0
 0


 A9
 147
 9
 11


 A90
 133
 9
 9


 A92
 40
 0
 0


 A95
 15
 2
 2


 A96
 69
 3
 3


 A972
 5
 0
 0


 A985
 5
 0
 0


 A99
 7
 0
 0


 M73
 8
 0
 0


 M74
 110
 0
 0


 M77
 19
 0
 0


 M8
 177
 4
 5


 M80
 17
 1
 1


 M876
 3
 0
 0


 M898
 3
 0
 0


 M9
 26
 1
 1


 M90
 30
 0
 0



  The figures quoted are provisional as not all police forces have completed their returns for 2007 and may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

Road Accidents

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents occurred on each trunk road in 2007, broken down by driver age group.

Stewart Stevenson: Accident data held by Transport Scotland only covers those accidents resulting in injury or death.

  The following table shows the number of drivers involved in injury accidents on each trunk road in 2007, broken down by driver age group.

  The number of accidents does not match the number of drivers as there can be multiple drivers involved in each accident.

  

 Route
 0-15
 16-22
 23-29
 30-39
 40-49
 50-59
 60-69
 70+
 Total Number of Injury Accidents


 A1
 0
 8
 14
 13
 11
 3
 5
 1
 38


 A6091
 0
 0
 0
 1
 3
 3
 0
 1
 4


 A68
 0
 10
 8
 7
 14
 11
 6
 4
 34


 A7
 0
 0
 3
 7
 6
 3
 2
 3
 16


 A701
 0
 4
 2
 2
 4
 2
 2
 0
 11


 A702
 0
 12
 9
 21
 10
 7
 3
 1
 39


 A720
 0
 13
 21
 33
 30
 17
 6
 2
 59


 A725
 0
 16
 25
 7
 13
 7
 3
 1
 42


 A726
 0
 2
 3
 6
 5
 2
 0
 0
 11


 A737
 0
 13
 7
 16
 13
 7
 9
 4
 37


 A738
 0
 2
 1
 3
 2
 0
 1
 0
 5


 A75
 0
 14
 11
 28
 27
 11
 15
 7
 68


 A76
 0
 11
 6
 16
 10
 10
 8
 1
 34


 A77
 0
 28
 20
 17
 26
 24
 9
 5
 67


 A78
 0
 19
 14
 18
 24
 16
 7
 2
 59


 A8
 0
 12
 13
 22
 34
 16
 5
 1
 54


 A80
 0
 12
 12
 13
 10
 7
 4
 2
 29


 A82
 0
 24
 31
 52
 68
 30
 21
 12
 143


 A828
 0
 1
 2
 1
 3
 1
 2
 0
 6


 A83
 0
 5
 3
 10
 13
 10
 5
 1
 34


 A830
 0
 2
 1
 2
 0
 0
 0
 1
 5


 A835
 0
 1
 6
 4
 5
 4
 3
 0
 15


 A84
 0
 3
 8
 9
 4
 8
 3
 2
 19


 A85
 0
 12
 11
 13
 29
 12
 5
 7
 56


 A86
 0
 6
 2
 5
 3
 3
 1
 0
 15


 A87
 0
 10
 8
 5
 9
 8
 3
 4
 35


 A876
 0
 1
 1
 2
 1
 1
 2
 0
 4


 A887
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 1


 A898
 0
 0
 2
 4
 2
 1
 0
 0
 4


 A9
 1
 29
 29
 48
 67
 45
 28
 14
 147


 A90
 1
 29
 35
 44
 51
 43
 30
 9
 133


 A92
 0
 11
 11
 25
 16
 9
 5
 8
 40


 A95
 0
 4
 3
 5
 7
 1
 5
 1
 15


 A96
 2
 14
 21
 30
 28
 9
 10
 7
 69


 A972
 0
 2
 1
 1
 3
 0
 1
 0
 5


 A985
 0
 4
 0
 1
 2
 2
 1
 1
 5


 A99
 0
 3
 2
 1
 3
 3
 1
 0
 7


 M73
 0
 2
 1
 3
 0
 2
 2
 0
 8


 M74
 0
 22
 32
 46
 44
 27
 11
 4
 110


 M77
 0
 9
 5
 9
 7
 3
 4
 1
 19


 M8
 0
 61
 60
 111
 83
 37
 14
 8
 177


 M80
 0
 4
 7
 7
 6
 2
 1
 3
 17


 M876
 0
 3
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 3


 M898
 0
 1
 1
 1
 1
 0
 0
 0
 3


 M9
 0
 5
 3
 13
 12
 8
 2
 3
 26


 M90
 0
 10
 6
 10
 14
 6
 4
 1
 30



  The figures quoted are provisional as not all police forces have completed their returns and may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

Roads

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was spent on upgrading each trunk road in 2007-08.

Stewart Stevenson: Expenditure on trunk road upgrading in 2007-08 by route is shown in the following table.

  

 Route
2007-08
(£ Million)


 A1
 0.89


 A68
 19.89


 A7
 2.63


 A720
 0.30


 A725
 0.31


 A737
 1.88


 A74(M)
 0.01


 A75
 10.41


 A76
 1.22


 A77
 7.98


 A78
 0.60


 A8
 0.02


 A80
 0.06


 A82
 0.45


 A830
 9.73


 A85
 0.11


 A876
 46.09


 A898
 0.30


 A9
 17.83


 A90
 1.25


 A95
 0.85


 A96
 0.13


 A985
 0.44


 M8
 0.44



  The figures relate only to investment in new construction and minor improvement schemes that have been completed but do not include maintenance costs. They are inclusive of construction and land costs with VAT applied where appropriate. The figures exclude preparation and land costs on capital schemes that have not yet gone to construction because there is, as yet, no tangible asset to show for the expenditure. The figures do not include expenditure on the M74 and M77 PPP schemes.

Roads

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the collection of litter from trunk roads.

Stewart Stevenson: The responsibility for clearing litter on trunk roads, with the exception of motorways and special roads, rests with the relevant local authority. Significant efforts are made to co-ordinate local authority litter operations with other works carried out by the Trunk Roads Authority.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what input Transport Scotland has had to the consultation on proposals to deal with congestion at the junction of the A96 and A90 trunk roads at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland agreed to be part of Steering Group to work with Aberdeen City Council and Nestrans as key stakeholders to identify a suitable option(s) to alleviate identified problems at the A90(T)/A96(T) Haudagain Roundabout. This is being done using the appropriate transport appraisal which in this case is the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). The Steering Group has monitored the consultation associated with this transport appraisal.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what options were considered by Transport Scotland prior to any input to the proposals to deal with congestion at the junction of the A96 and A90 trunk roads at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland did not consider any options prior to joining the A90(T)/A96(T) Haudagain Roundabout transport appraisal Steering Group.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many options for improvements to deal with congestion at the junction of the A96 and A90 trunk roads at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen were rejected and for what reasons.

Stewart Stevenson: Presently the transport appraisal of the A90(T)/A96(T) Haudagain Roundabout is in its last stage prior to completion. The production of the Final STAG Report represents the end of this transport appraisal. The final report will be published when completed. It will give full details of all options considered, whether they were accepted or rejected.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Transport Scotland consulted ministers on options prior to giving input on proposals to deal with congestion at the junction of the A96 and A90 trunk roads at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers expressed any views to Transport Scotland on options prior to giving input on proposals to deal with congestion at the junction of the A96 and A90 trunk roads at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Stewart Stevenson: No.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any input by Transport Scotland on proposals to deal with congestion at the junction of the A96 and A90 trunk roads at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen was endorsed, approved or agreed by ministers.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland has periodically kept ministers informed of the higher level progress of the A96(T)/A90(T) Haudagain Roundabout transport appraisal. However, no proposed option has been endorsed, approved or agreed by ministers.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers will report to the Parliament on the outcome of the consultation on proposals to deal with congestion at the junction of the A96 and A90 trunk roads at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Stewart Stevenson: There are no proposals for ministers to report to Parliament on the outcome of the consultation on the A96(T)/A90(T) Haudagain Roundabout transport appraisal. However, when this study is completed the associated Final STAG Report will be published.

Rural Development

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the work programme will be for each of the regional proposal assessment committees set up to assess applications to the Rural Development Contracts - Rural Priorities section of the Scottish Rural Development Plan, including the dates of meetings for consideration of applications and submission of recommendations to Scottish Ministers.

Richard Lochhead: The 11 Regional Proposal Assessment Committees (RPACs) will meet up to three times a year to assess applications submitted under the Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities element of the Scotland Rural Development Committee.

  The specific dates for the assessment meetings will be chosen by the RPACs themselves. However, we intend to consult stakeholders on the most appropriate timing for the first round of RPAC meetings, following the launch of the second stage of the application process scheduled for early July this year. The recommendations of the RPACs will be submitted to me for consideration as soon as possible following the completion of the first round of meetings.

School Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the success of the school travel co-ordinator scheme.

Stewart Stevenson: There has been no formal assessment made of the school travel co-ordinator grant scheme. Since 2003, the Scottish Government has provided ring-fenced funding to local authorities for school travel co-ordinator posts. This funding has now been rolled up into the block grant as part of the concordat agreement with COSLA and it is up to local authorities to prioritise local needs.

  In 2008, over 61% of Scottish schools are working on or implementing a travel plan to encourage more children to walk and cycle to school and to reduce the numbers of vehicles on the road during the school run periods. In East Dunbartonshire every primary school has implemented a travel plan and in Inverclyde 100% of its schools, primary and secondary, are working on a travel plan. This is evidence of the success of the school travel coordinators’ work.

Shipbuilding

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proposals are being prepared anent the (a) revitalisation of commercial shipbuilding in Scotland and (b) placing of orders for public sector maritime vessels with Ferguson Shipbuilders, Port Glasgow.

Jim Mather: Scottish ministers work to promote and support the commercial shipbuilding industry in Scotland. There are no plans to place orders for public sector maritime vessels at this time. Were that position to change any new vessel commissioned would go out to tender and be subject to EU procurement rules.

Small Businesses

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the take-up to date has been of the Small Business Bonus Scheme, expressed as a percentage of all eligible businesses and broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) discount band.

John Swinney: Information in the form requested is not held centrally. Preliminary estimates of take-up will be possible towards the end of 2008 using information provided by each local authority as part of their mid-year non-domestic rates returns.

Small Businesses

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure maximum take-up of the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has participated in an extensive programme of publicity to ensure maximum take-up of the Small Business Bonus Scheme, involving local authorities and other bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses. As part of that process, over 200,000 Scottish Government leaflets have been sent to ratepayers in each local authority area. Copies of the leaflet are available on the Scottish Government website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/11199/Scheme.

Small Businesses

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out the evaluation of the Small Business Bonus Scheme and, if so, whether the evaluation will be independent in character.

John Swinney: We plan to evaluate the Small Business Bonus Scheme after it has been fully implemented in 2009-10. All of our evaluations, whether commissioned externally or performed in-house, are independent in character.

Student Finance

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has provided to institutions to alleviate student hardship in each of the last three years and how much it will provide in each of the next three years.

Fiona Hyslop: The total amounts allocated to institutions to alleviate hardship over the past three years is as follows:

  2007-08: £14.7 million

  2006-07: £14.4 million

  2005-06: £13.7 million.

  The total allocation for 2008-09 has not yet been finalised but will increase in line with inflation. It will also include an additional £1 million that has been provided to support the new package of support for part-time students. The figure for subsequent years cannot be provided at this stage but it would be expected to rise in line with inflation.

Tourism

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-11976 by Jim Mather on 1 May 2008, whether it will provide details of the recent application for European Regional Development Fund Programme funding submitted by VisitScotland.

Jim Mather: Four applications were submitted from VisitScotland for the 2007-2013 European Structural Funds ERDF Programme. The New Tourism Growth Fund total project costs £998,827 requesting a grant of £374,560, Green Tourism Initiatives for Business Growth total project costs £1,137,633 requesting a grant of £401,362, Homecoming Scotland 2009 total project costs £3,958,341 requesting a grant of £1,335,338 and Green Tourism Consumer Promotion total project costs £2,874,215 requesting a grant of £991,379. This package of funding aims to accelerate growth in the tourism sector by supporting businesses, creating jobs and increasing tourism incomes in the lowlands and uplands area, creating sustainable growth in the local economy.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will maintain capital funding for Sustrans beyond 2008-09.

Stewart Stevenson: I do expect that Sustrans shall receive some capital funding beyond 2008-09. As I have previously stated in the answer to question S3W-11802 on 30 April 2008, further years’ allocations will be based on the outcomes of this year’s projects.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Vulnerable Witnesses

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were called to give evidence in courts in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007.

Kenny MacAskill: For criminal proceedings the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) retains information on the number of children who are required to be cited in the event of a not guilty plea. Between 2005 and 2008 the numbers were as follows:

  2005-06 - 9,088 children

  2006-07 - 9,673 children

  2007-08 - 7,364 children.

  The COPFS does not hold statistics on the number of children called to give evidence at trials, but this will be less than those marked to be cited or actually cited to give evidence since a number of cases do not proceed to trial for variety of reasons.

  Information is not available on the number of child witnesses cited by the defence, but since the vast majority of witnesses are cited by the COPFS these numbers are likely to be very small.

  The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of children called to give evidence in civil proceedings.

Vulnerable Witnesses

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the standard or special measures introduced by the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 were used in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007, broken down by type of (i) measure and (ii) case.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government together with key partners are reviewing the methods for the collection of information on vulnerable witnesses following the completion of the implementation of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13016 on 27 May 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  The Scottish Court Service (SCS) has been developing its recording of information on the numbers of applications for special measures since the beginning of the phased implementation of the 2004 act in April 2005. Figures for special measures actually used are not available, but since many cases involving applications for special measures do not proceed to trial they will be less than the numbers of applications made.

  SCS records show that in the sheriff court in 2005, 55 children had applications granted for live television links and 119 applications granted for screens. Between January and September 2006 these figures stood at 99 and 111 respectively. From October 2006 the SCS put in place revised returns to collect details of defence and Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration applications. The figures were as follows:

  Children’s Hearing Court Proceedings - October 2006 to March 2007

  

 Measures
Applications Granted Children
Applications Granted Adults


 Live TV Link
 16
 


 Screens
 15
 


 Use of Supporter
 7
 


 Use of Prior Statements
 
 


 Evidence by Commissioner
 
 


 None
 
 


 Totals
 38
 0



  There are no records of applications being tendered by the Defence in this period.

  From April 2007 the Sheriff Courts were asked to include figures on Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) applications and the returns are as follows:

  Applications by the COPFS (Sheriff Courts) - April 2007 to December 2007

  

 Measures
Applications Granted Children
Applications Granted Adults


 Live TV Link
 204
 14


 Screens
 495
 29


 Use of Supporter
 458
 12


 Use of Prior Statements
 1
 


 Evidence by Commissioner
 
 


 None
 68
 


 Totals
 1226
 57



  Applications by the Defence (Sheriff Courts) - April 2007 to December 2007

  

 Measures
Applications Granted Children
Applications Granted Adults


 Live TV Link
 11
 2


 Screens
 5
 3


 Use of Supporter
 10
 2


 Use of Prior Statements
 
 


 Evidence by Commissioner
 
 


 None
 13
 1


 Totals
 39
 8



  Applications relating to Children’s Hearing Court Proceedings - April 2007 to December 2007

  

 Measures
Applications Granted Children
Applications Granted Adults


 Live TV Link
 5
 


 Screens
 10
 


 Use of Supporter
 13
 


 Use of Prior Statements
 5
 


 Evidence by Commissioner
 
 


 None
 1
 


 Totals
 34
 0



  The SCS has compiled figures for High Court applications in 2007 as follows:

  Applications by the COPFS

  

 Measures
 Applications Granted


 Live TV Link
 163


 Screens
 152


 Use of Supporter
 345


 Use of Prior Statements
 0


 Evidence by Commissioner
 1


 None
 47


 Total
 708



  Applications by the Defence

  

 Measures
 Applications Granted


 Live TV Link
 0


 Screens
 0


 Use of Supporter
 3


 Use of Prior Statements
 0


 Evidence by Commissioner
 0


 None
 0


 Total
 3



  It has not been possible to differentiate between those applications involving children and adults in the time available.

Vulnerable Witnesses

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the statistical data collected and published on vulnerable witnesses in courts.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is working with key partners across the justice system to improve the quality of information collected on child and vulnerable witnesses following the completion of the implementation of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 in April this year. We are also considering how best this information can be made publicly available. In undertaking this work we will take into account the findings of the early evaluation of the first phases of implementation of the 2004 act, which is nearing completion and will be published later this summer.

  Examples of recent work by agencies in this area include the Scottish Court Service’s (SCS) monitoring system that captures information in relation to the throughput of applications placed before the court. The SCS is also improving the collection of information on how effectively special measures operate when evidence is being led. The police service is rolling out a revised standard police report (SPR2) which will improve the collation of information on witness vulnerability.

Vulnerable Witnesses

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vulnerable adults were called to give evidence in courts in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007.

Kenny MacAskill: It is currently not possible to provide information on the numbers of adult vulnerable witnesses as defined by the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 that are called to give evidence in courts. However, the Scottish Government together with key partners are reviewing the methods for the collection of information on adult vulnerable witnesses following the completion of the implementation of the 2004 act.

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13016 on 27 May 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.